HOW TO DRAW WELL
The Soft Skills

ART MATERIALS THAT WE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Part 1: Dry Mediums

ART TIPS

ART TIP 1: FOLLOW NATURE’S RHYTHM. In this world of fast food and high speed technology, we get easily and unconsciously swept away with the unnatural pace of life. Creating sensitive art usually takes time ~ So accept this fact and you will enjoy the process. Making art can help you to slow down the pace of your life to the beat of your heart.

ART TIP 2: LAYER YOUR WORK. From this video on art conservation, we can see through the layers of paintings via an infra red camera. The artist sees what is beneath and then is better able to feel and fill in the forms, layering to the surface. Layering gives depth to your work on all levels.

ART TIP 3: DO YOUR RESEARCH & USE REFERENCES ~ even if you are creating something from your imagination. Notice the work process of these five determined Montreal-based artists, collectively known as A’shop, for a graffiti mural of a Mother Nature-esque Madonna or a modern-day version of “Our Lady of Grace.” They created this breathtakingly beautiful five story mural in 16 full days using 500 cans of spray paint in over 50 different colours. (with the help of references from photos as well as using grids – more on that coming soon!)

The A’shop crew hopes this project will encourage other city boroughs to consider murals of their own. “Our city has way too much grey. So I hope this [mural] kickstarts a mural campaign.” We hope so too!

ART TIP 4: FOCUS ON WHAT YOU LOVE AND CREATE FROM THINGS & IDEAS THAT MEAN SOMETHING TO YOU.
Brian Selznick summaries beautifully a lot of points that we believe in in this wonderful clip of his project, “Wonderstruck”.

ART TIP 5: According to many scientific papers, the eye can perceive up to around 450 different shades of grey. So if you are using tones, add more varieties to level up your work!